Ørsted Picks Onshore Substation Team in Taiwan

Ørsted has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC) to build two onshore substations, cable corridors, landfalls and transition joint bays for the first 900MW Greater Changhua projects.

The contract amount is more than TWD 7 billion (around EUR 200 million). This EPC contract is so far the largest of its kind for Taiwan’s offshore wind industry, according to Ørsted.

Star Energy, 100% owned by TCC, will be responsible for all onshore deliverables regarding design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the onshore substations. Star Energy will sign contracts with local sub-suppliers approved by Ørsted and these contracts will create around 800 to 1,000 local jobs, the developer said.

Ørsted has already obtained the land lease rights in Lun-Wei district, within the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park to build the first two onshore substations for the first 900MW Greater Changhua projects. Upon Ørsted’s final investment decision, onshore works are expected to commence in the second quarter of 2019.

Matthias Bausenwein, General Manager for Ørsted Asia Pacific, said: “Onshore substation is a crucial piece of infrastructure for our Greater Changhua wind farms. It will allow the incorporation of green energy into the power grid and bring clean energy to the households of Taiwan. This also marks the first step of our onshore construction in Changhua starting from early 2019. We are confident that together with our Taiwanese partners we will achieve the highest of quality, and that Ørsted’s experience, skills and engineering standards will lay the foundation for the Greater Changhua Wind Farms.”

Ørsted has from the early planning stage contracted Sinotech to implement the conceptual design and several surveying works that laid the foundation of this onshore substation EPC contract.

Chang Ming-Chieh, Chairman of Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation, said: “The procurement of electrical components (such as transformers, resistors, switchboards, cables, etc) and the civil engineering works will predominantly come from local suppliers. We estimate more than 85% of the entire project will be supplied by local suppliers and will create 800 to 1,000 new job opportunities. This will fulfil Ørsted’s commitment to localise as much as possible the construction of the onshore substations.”